COMICS AND CRUMPETS - FEBRUARY 2005
This month -- who owns Britain's favourite comics characters? IPC Media's Andrew Sumner reveals the truth!
Andrew has also been interviewed for Comic.con's the Pulse and has revealed the IPC character featured in Albion won't be integrated with the wider Wildstorm universe and how excited he is by the upcoming mini series from the team of Alan Moore, Leah Moore, John Reppion, artist Shane Oakley and cover artist Dave Gibbons.
"Essentially, the reason IPC/DC are now doing something with the IPC comics library is because I'm a mainstream magazine publisher and a comics fan," Sumner told Jennifer Contino," and I found kindred spirits in DC's Bob Wayne and WildStorm's Scott Dunbier.
" The IPC heroes won't be integrated into the WildStorm universe and will remain in their own, separate IPC-verse much as Alan Moore's ABC titles inhabit their own universe within WildStormFrom a publishing perspective, WildStorm makes a good home for the IPC library because Scott Dunbier (who lived in the UK for a number of years) is very enthusiastic about these properties. Scott is a great executive editor who I've got a lot of respect for, so I trust his judgment in managing projects involving the IPC heroes.
"The IPC heroes are a truly weird, fascinating bunch that are utterly unlike the classic US superhero archetypes that came out of DC, Marvel, Fawcett, Quality and Archie."

ARCHIVED NEWS - FEBRUARY 2005

MAKING MYRIAD
28/2/05: The first issue of Myriad - a bimonthly American comic which includes the work of British editor /writer Richard Cosgrove - is now available for pre-orders in Previews (March issue, pg 239, item code MAR052592).
Myriad is an eclectic anthology comic that features ChiSai (starring the world's first black teenaged-single-mum assassin); a pirates-swords-and-sorcery tale Molly-Be-Damned; Frail - a highly original horror series; and a slice-of-lives stories in The Mall.
Myriad is being published by Approbation Comics.
Web Link: www.approbationcomics.com

DEVILCHILD III DUE IN MAY
28/2/05: The penultimate volume in the series of Devilchild graphic novels from Moonface Press, Heaven's Prisoners will be released at Bristol's Comic Expo over the weekend of May 14-15, 2005.
Picking up immediately where Volume II left off, Heaven's Prisoners sees Troy Moore, aka Devilchild, face off against a crack team of angel assassins, reunited with his devilish dad in Hell and going toe-to-toe with the rampaging man monster known only as Messiah.

Devilchild III: Heaven's Prisoners -- on sale in May

Unlike previous volumes in the series, Heaven's Prisoners contains one 75-page Devilchild story and no back-up strips. The A4-sized book is written by Andy Winter, with art from Keith Burns, Jason Dennis and Duane Leslie. It will launch in Bristol with a special introductory price of £5 (£6.99 usually).

THROUGH SPANISH EYES
28/2/05: An exhibition or war time cartoons by Spanish cartoonist Mario Armengol has just opened at the Political Cartoon Gallery in London and runs until 19 May 2005.
Armengol, born in Catalonia, Spain in 1909, first became politicised whilst attending the Madrid School of Art. Distressed by Spain's severe poverty, be began to criticise the Monarchy and the landowners through his cartoons. Armengol was a passionate Republican and after General Franco's triumph in the Spanish Civil War, he fled to France and swore never to return to his homeland until democracy had been restored. The French threatened to send him back to Spain if he did not join the French Foreign Legion. Given no alternative, he agreed and was posted to the Sahara where he produced a series of outstanding ink and watercolour illustrations, documenting the realities of life in the Foreign Legion.

A wartime cartoon by Spanish cartoonist Armengol

In May 1940, Armengol ended up in Narvik, part of an ill-fated Allied expedition designed to pre-empt a Nazi invasion of Norway. The expedition was a dismal failure. Evacuated from Norway, Armengol ended up being disembarked from a troopship in Liverpool.
Once in Britain, Armengol was recruited by the Ministry of Information as a graphic designer and political cartoonist. Throughout the war, his cartoons appeared in many publications, including France (the Free French newspaper), the Chicago Sun, Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph.
Armengol continued cartooning well into the 1980s, lampooning Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet ministers. He died in 1995, his funeral attended by his many friends and admirers from around the world.
The 'Through Spanish Eyes' exhibition features 60 original Armengol cartoons from the Second World War.
The Political Cartoon Gallery, 32 Store Street, London WC1E 7BS, is open Monday to Friday 9am - 5.30pm and on Saturdays between 11.30am - 5.30pm. Admission is free.

IT'S A WEBCOMIX THING!
22/2/05: The UK Web & Mini Comix Thing 2005 is taking place on Saturday 19 March 2005 at the Great Hall, Mile End, London. The event is aimed at showcasing web & mini comic artists, and a bunch of other sorts like illustrators and publishers, of the now giving you the chance to meet the them and buy their stuff. It also gives you the inside edge on how to become a creator yourself!
Further information at: www.ukwebcomixthing.co.uk

The cover of Panini's Spectacular Spider-Man #114, on sale 17 March 2005 across the UK. Captain Britain and Spider-Man © Marvel Comics See related story

An interior panel from Spectacular Spider-Man #114 Captain Britain and Spider-Man © Marvel Comics

CAPTAIN BRITAIN RETURNS TO THE UK!
Panini's UK title Spectacular Spider Man #114, on sale 17 March, which features original Spider-Man comic material, pits Spider-Man and Captain Britain against a cosmic cube-enhanced Red Skull.
Introducing the character to a new generation of comic readers, this will be the first time in 13 years that Captain Britain appears in an original strip in a British comic.
The story has been written by Jim Alexander with pencils by Jon Haward (Tales of Telguuth, Of Ancient Blood), inks by John Stokes (who drew Black Knight for Hulk Weekly back in the late 1970s) and coloured by Alan Craddock (Mercy Heights, Judge Dredd) "A year ago Panini decided to take the Spectacular Spider-Man in bolder directions featuring characters not necessarily associated with Spidey," Jim Alexander told downthetubes.net. "So I've written a Dr Doom story, a Mandarin one, and now a Captain Britain story. Usually the editor goes to the writer with characters in mind. We'd discussed doing something with Captain Britain a couple of times, so I was delighted when he asked me to do just that."
Panini of course gets permission to use particular Marvel characters, using them under license, but the stories "are not part of Marvel continuity," says Jim, "but do draw from it, and Marvel US have the final say on the scripts. You still have to be consistent, true to what the character is about."
Apart from Spider-Man, what other projects is Jim working on right now?
"As well as having strips in Spectacular Spider-Man, I've contributed scripts to the new Panini/Marvel UK publication, Rampage," Jim says. "In the latest issue of Marvel Rampage #5, the Fantastic Four get more than they expect when they take on Galactus.
"I've recently had some strips published in Metal Hurlant," he adds, "with art by Richard Corben and David Lloyd; the Deathwatch Graphic Novel for Black Library/Games Workshop; a number of strips in Cartoon Network Block Party (DC) featuring Johnny Bravo and Courage the Cowardly Dog. "I also scripted the first run of Dreadlock Holmes for the Dandy," Jim reveals, "which was featured heavily in the British press, and I've also contributed a storyline to the eagerly anticipated Star Trek Manga anthology from TokyoPop. "A web site of my own is on my things to do list!" he admits.
Web Link: Click here for that on the Bulletproof Comics site

The cover of Albion #1 by Dave Gibbons. Archie the Robot © IPC Media See related story

ALBION ON ITS WAY
22/2/05: Wildstorm have just released the cover of Albion #1, drawn by Dave Gibbons. The mini series features the return of some classic British comics heroes such as Robot Archie, the Steel Claw and others in a story by Alan Moore scripted by Leah Moore and John Reppion wiith interior art from Shane Oakley. The book is due to go on sale in June/July 2005.
Latest news on this project via: http://moorereppion.blogspot.com

The cover of Mr. T #1 from AP Comics See related story

MR.T RETURNS IN MAY 2005!
17/2/05: American cult hero and iconic all-round entertainer Mr.T returns to pulp fiction -- and to pulp bad guys -- this May in an all-new comic book series published by the UK's APComics.
Announcing one of the biggest licensing deals in the history of UK comics, APComics have announced that Mr.T #1 will be launched in the USA on Mr.T's birthday, 21 May 2005. UK fans will be able to get an exclusive sneak peek at the UK Comic Expo, Bristol, UK, May 13-15.
Mr.T, known worldwide for his roles in the smash-hit television series The A-Team and hit feature films such as Rocky III, as well as solo television shows, is overseeing the series as Creative Supervisor.
"Quit your jibber-jabbering and buy my comic!" Mr. T snarled at reporters. "I pity the fool who don‚t read it! It's gonna be pure gold", clearly quipped making reference to his trademark gold jewellery.
The comic book will be scripted by up and coming British writer Christopher Bunting and drawn by Neil Edwards and Randy Emberlin
"This truly is a dream job for me," Chris says. "Mr.T's winning combination of toughness and tenderness have earned him an army of fans all over the world and they are going to love this book!"
St. Albans-based APComics has been producing comic books since 2001 with popular titles such as Monster Club, Darkham Vale and The Chase to its name. The publisher recently secured a deal to produce comic book versions of best-selling children's novels. "For a British publisher like us to get this deal is beyond belief!" feels AP Comics' publisher and editor-in-chief, Richard Emms. "We're all huge Mr.T fans and can't describe how excited we are about having such a legendary character in our midst!"
The comic book's US distribution will be exclusively by Diamond Comics. Its UK and Europe distribution will be by both Diamond Comics and APComics. It has a suggested retail price of $3.50/£2.50.
Two Mr. T trade paperbacks are due for release in December 2005 and July 2006.

Spaceship Away #5 See related story

SPACESHIP AWAY RETURNS
17/2/05: The latest full colour issue of the terrific Dan Dare 'zine Spaceship Away is out now and probably the best issue yet, including all-new original Dan Dare strip by Don Harley and a stunning cutaway of Space Fleet's HQ by Graham Bleathman.
Spaceship Away is a superb Dan Dare magazine produced four times a year by Rod Barzilay.
The first four issues contained The Phoenix Mission -- an entirely new Dan Dare story illustrated by two of the original 1950's and 60's Eagle artists: Don Harley and the late Keith Watson.
A single issue sub costs £6.99 but subscribe for six issues and you get the seventh free.
Find out more by writing to: Rod Barzilay, 8 Marley Close, Preston, Weymouth, Dorset, DT3 6DH, United Kingdom. Please include a sae with any enquiries.

STOLEN COMIC!
17/2/05: Peter Lumby, who also draws the Tozzer books, has drawn a 16-page promo comic comic for the new videogame Stolen from Hip Interactive, which is being bundled with various gaming magazines in the UK and abroad, including Edge and Official PS2 Magazine.The promotional comic was written by Jim Mummery.
The game itself is a third person stealth action adventure and is due for release in March. Working with the developer Blue 52, Lumby also contributed to the concept artwork for the game and produced the FMV cut scene storyboards and animatics.
Read the first four pages online: www.talkaboutcomics.com

Swill the Alien See realted story

SWILL THE ALIEN RETURNS
17/2/05: Paul Rainey's Swill the Alien, one of the many characters he created for the indie 'zine Love Bomb, is back in his own comic.
The deviant from the planet Skurm made his comic debut in issue two of Love Bomb at the end of the 1990s. As it turned out, despite his popularity, this was not only his first but also his last appearance... until today.
This one off special contains previously unseen material and is in the same format as another of Paul's comics, Telephone Thing, except it has a full colour cover.
Swill the Alien costs £1.50 (including post and packing to the UK). If you would like a copy then please contact Paul for details: paul@bookoflists.co.uk
Web Link: www.bookoflists.co.uk

Beautiful Things See related story

CREATING BEAUTIFUL THINGS
9/2/05: Beautiful Things is a new 60-page book of illustrated poetry and short stories from Boychild Productions, publishers of Manga Mover and Angel in the Wood. It's an unusual literary book, written by Sean Michael Wilson with several one to six page strips drawn by various artists from several countries, including Neill Cameron, Pedro Belushi and Juan Chavarriga.
Expressionistic, intimate, obscure, sensual -- these poem-comics are like lightening flashes in that we only see part of a situation or mood for a brief time, then its gone, leaving us wondering. Its comic book influences include Alan Moore, Adrian Tomine, Chris Reynolds, as well as the writings of Kafka and Borges.
"These poem-comics and short stories intrigue and delight," says Ian Murphy of Comics International. "They're such eloquent and emotional, precisely written pieces, each offering a snapshot of a moment, ushering the reader into a private world. It conjures a deeply moving book that opens up the possibilities of graphic literature."
Beautiful Things is not out yet B is not out yet, but it will available fromDiamond distributors April Previews catalogue. It can also be ordered through Smallzone (www.smallzone.co.uk) in the UK, or direct from boychild productions: www.boychildproductions.co.uk

GANG WAR IN MEGA-CITY ONE!
9/2/05: Mongoose Publishing and Rebellion have launched Judge Dredd: Gangs of Mega City One, a brand new miniatures game set in the world of Judge Dredd.
The third product line in Mongoose Publishing's miniatures portfolio, Gangs of Mega-City One is an extensive miniatures range providing all gamers need to wage a multi-player street-gang war in 2000AD's dark and deadly police-state of the future.
Judge Dredd: Gangs of Mega-City One is available through your local gaming retailer.
Web Link: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com

Lucky Bag #36 See related story

COVER BOY!
2/2/05: Time to blow my own trumpet. Lucky Bag #36, out now in the UK, features a fantastic cover by Joe Matthews featuring the villanous Doktor Brain battling Dick Turtle, a strip which is written by me most issues. Joe's done a great job on this and the strip, which see space hero Dick Turtle and sidekick Hedgie battling Doktor Brain in a "final" battle.
Lucky Bag is a totally originated humour comic strip published by Oldham-based Toontastic, which sells about 40,00 copies every issue. Contributors include Tim Perkins, Nigel Parkinson, Paul J. Palmer, John Jackson and many other talents.

BEANO PULPED
1/2/05: Top British comic weekly The Beano had its entire 200,000 print run pulped last week, after its management felt a strip satirising French soccer star and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry being sent off and saying "Time to va-va-voom", could have caused offence to the player. ("Va-va-voom" is the phrase featured in Thierry Henry's TV spots for the Renault Clio, a phrase that has since been added to the Oxford English Dictionary).
The Beano has had fun at the expense of Prime Minister Tony Blair in the past,
but apparently soccer stars are another matter altogether. The whole saga seems a bit rum to me -- after all, there are laws protecting the use of caricature in the UK going back several centuries. If the Beano's management were that worried, why didn't they send a copy of the strip to Henry's agent first?

LET'S HEAR IT FOR TITEUF
1/2/05, updated 7/2/05: DC Thomson's The Dandy has begun running Titeuf every issue, one of the most popular cartoon strips running in France today. Re-named "Tootuff" for the UK market, to tie in with the "Tootuff" cartoon now on GMTV, Titeuf was created by Swiss cartoonist Philippe Chappuis, he recently told the Sunday Herald: “When I first started drawing the strip it was meant to be a kind of personal diary – my memories of schooldays. And then when it went into print, it was with the idea that it would appeal to people my age, then in their 20s.
“Only with the third album did I realise, much to my surprise, that children absolutely adored him too."
Chappuis says he modelled the original scenario and cast of characters on the Beano's The Bash Street Kids, whose artist Leo Baxendale he discovered as a teenager.
"It's not unexpected that The Dandy is using a little European content," says cartoonist Lew Stringer, "but it's not a first. Back in the 1960s Valiant used several French strips, including Blueberry and Spirou. Asterix used to appear in Ranger.
"The Dandy has been heading towards a more European look for a long time now, particularly since its revamp last year. I think it's a good move.
If you're not familiar with Titeuf, you'll find more about him at:
www.glenat.com/titeuf.html

Glenn Fabry's internal art for Event Horizon #1 See related story

EVENT HORIZON ON COURSE FOR MAY LAUNCH
1/2/05: Watch out for Event Horizon Volume One, due for a May release and
featuring a wealth of British comics talent. The anthology title, which will be launched at the UK Comic Expo in Bristol in May (top guest at that is J. Michael Straczynski) includes contributions from Liam Sharp (The Possessed, Spawn: the Dark Ages, The Hulk), Ashley Wood (Popbot), and Steve Niles (30 Days of Night). Chris Weston (Ministry of Space, The Filth), Dan Wickline, Kody Chamberlain, Gary Erskine and other established comic reprobates will all be making their own contributions.
Web Link: www.mamtor.com

RUPERT BEAR, PUNCH AND MUCH MORE
1/2/05: In 1935 The Daily Express was in a fix. Mary Tourtel, Rupert's creator, was retiring due to failing eyesight. Who could take over drawing Rupert? They were fortunate in their choice of Alfred Bestall, illustrator and cartoonist for Punch and The Tatler. So successful was Bestall that soon children were writing in to the paper and responding to Rupert's adventures in a way they hadn't for some time. Bestall's Rupert led a very active life for a young bear. He climbed mountains, travelled the globe, took to the air in planes, helicopters, balloons ­ even a flying bird's nest - and encountered all manner of exciting and magical characters.
Bestall wrote and illustrated over 270 stories over the next 30 years, never missing a day. (The strip was only squeezed out three times: once to give way to a wartime speech by Churchill, once when Kennedy was assassinated and once when Pope John died.) Rupert even survived wartime austerity. The Express's Lord Beaverbrook insisted he was crucial for morale and managed to get precious paper to print the Rupert annuals, which had first appeared in 1936. Bestall's final story, 'Rupert and the Winkybickies', ended on 22 July 1965. He continued to draw the memorable annual covers and endpapers until 1973 and was still contributing drawings in 1982 when he was 90.
Rupert Bear, Punch and much more: The Art of Alfred Bestall, marks the 70th anniversary of Bestall's taking over as Rupert artist. The exhibition at London's Cartoon Art Centre pens on 8 February and runs until the end of April. It includes original Rupert artwork by Bestall from six decades, including his atmospheric scenes of Nutwood where Rupert and his chums lived, and story sequences never exhibited before. Amongst the works on show is the famous Frog Chorus which inspired Paul McCartney to write the 1984 hit, 'We all stand together'. The exhibition shows the full range of Bestall's art, including joke cartoons for Punch and his beautiful colour illustrations for The Tatler.
A series of talks and events accompanies the exhibition.
Rupert Bear, Punch and much more: The Art of Alfred Bestall

8 February ­ 30 April 2005
The Cartoon Art Trust, 7 The Brunswick Centre, Bernard Street London WC1N 1AF
Admission Free. Open: Tue ­ Sat, 10.00 am to 5.00 pm
Tel: 0207 278 7172  Fax: 0207 278 4234 Email: info@cartooncentre.com
Web Link: www.cartooncentre.com

ALAN MOORE INTERVIEW ONLINE
1/2/05: Conducted in two sessions in September and October 2002, and originally serialised in the 2000AD fanzine Zarjaz, Daniel Whiston's interview with the legendary Alan Moore now appears on the Engine Comics web site. It's a fascinating indepth discussion on the creative process behind his writing, a must read for any fan of literature.
Link:
www.enginecomics.co.uk/
interviews/interviews.htm

ALONG CAME A SPIDER
1/2/05: Titan Books are to release a collection of The Spider comic strip from Lion later this year -- just in time for the character's 40th birthday.
Bursting onto the pages of Lion back in 1965, The Spider was a breath of foul air in a world of four-colour good guys and square-jawed heroics. Imagine a villain equipped with an amazingly versatile exoskeleton and the brains to match… one with ambitions to become the Kingpin of Crime. Now meet the Spider!
In order to achieve his goal, the Spider 'liberates' a gang of specialists from their murky cells, including 'Professor' Pelham, a brilliant but crooked scientist, and Roy Ordini, ace safecracker.
Featuring adventure, invention and wit to spare, these delightfully fiendish tales offer up the best of the period and are still strong, stylish and sought-after today!
Last seen reprinted in Vulcan in the 1970s, The Spider has been rescued from the IPC archives and restored beyond its original glory. The rare strip is to be collected in a gorgeous hardback library edition; featuring extensive background material, fully restored art, and a painted cover by Gary Leach!
As previously reported, in addition to this Titan's Collectors Edition of the original comic, the legendary Alan Moore, along with scriptwriters Leah Moore & John Reppion, artist Shane Oakley and cover artist Dave Gibbons, are currently hard at work on Albion, a miniseries from Wildstorm that brings the Spider ­ and his IPC stablemate, The Steel Claw ­ into the modern day. DC Comics/Wildstorm's parent company Time-Warner owns UK company IPC Media which originally published the characters in the 1960s.
Web Links www.titanbooks.com

TRIGAN EMPIRE CONTINUES
1/2/05: The latest volume of Trigan Empire reprints from Don Lawrence Collection should now be on sale. Subscribers to the series will also receive a free art print.
Trigan Empire: The Sun-Worshippers reprints five stories from 1973-75. Most of the pages have been reproduced from original artwork and the high quality production of the DLC books will guarantee that the strip has never looked better.
The introduction to the book is written by Steve Holland and Meerten Welleman, co-editors on the series. Steve is also working on an introduction to a second The Spider collection from Titan Books, which will feature a cover by Brian Bolland. “It only struck me today that I'm the luckiest man on the planet when it comes to covers,” says Steve. “With the Hank Janson reprint series I do for Telos I have Reginald (Heade) Webb covers, some appearing for the first time.
"With the Storm and Trigan Empire volumes we have a wealth of mostly unseen (over here in the UK) artwork to draw from. And Garry Leach and Brian Bolland are doing the Titan Books reprints. I know people who would kill for a line-up like that!"
Web Links:
www.donlawrence.co.uk

BLIMEY -- IT'S BRICKMAN!
Remember Brickman, Lew Stringer's parody of Batman? Well, the much-loved stupor hero is back!
Scheduled for a late March 2005 release, Los Angeles based publishers Active Images will be releasing Brickman Begins! – a 148 page collection of all the Brickman strips which appeared in various British fanzines and comics from 1979 - 1996. Packing the book with "a fine compendium of knee-slappers, guffaws and belly laughs" (as Alan Moore called it) the trade paperback will also contain "guest page" Brickman chapters by Dave Gibbons, Kevin O’Neill and Mike Collins/Mark Farmer from 1986.
This new collection is introduced by Alan Moore and includes a brand new prologue strip by Lew and a six page Combat Colin strip first published in 1990 (teaming Colin with Brickman in a spoof of The Prisoner TV series). It also features brand new guest page illustrations of Brickman in the artists’ own style by Alan Davis, David Hine, Ian Churchill, Hunt Emerson, Charlie Adlard and many others.
Web Link:
www.activeimages.com/gold/brickman

CRANKING UP THE HEAT!
1/2/04: Titan Book's classic comic library swells again with the further adventures of Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, with Marooned on Mercury.
After defeating the threat of the Red Moon, this fourth volume in the series finds Dan and his crew stranded on the hostile planet of Mercury ­ at the mercy of the elements, the natives... and that pesky interplanetary dictator, the Mekon!
With a short introduction from Queen guitarist Brian May, this is another beautifully produced collection of Dan Dare strips. The collection is prefaced by two two excellent features ­ The Art of Frank Hampson by Terry Doyle and Alan Vince, and a the fascinating third part of an inteveriew with the late Frank Hampson by Alan Vince, which he conducted before the artist's death in 1985.
The quality of the reprinting continues to be superb and this is a welcome addition to Titan's ongoing Dan Dare library.
Web Links:
www.titanbooks.com
www.dandare.co.uk

DOOMLORD RELEASED!
1/2/04: Doomlord fan David McDonald is to publish a licensed collection of the character created by Alan Grant which appeared in the 1980s Eagle.
The 72-page collection comprises the work of writer Alan Grant and artist Heinzl after the photo stories ran their course. The Deathlords of Nox will feature a colour cover and cost around £5.
The collection will be available from the end of March and will be distributed through the Internet and mail order.
"I did look into getting them distributed through Diamond or book wholesalers," says David, "but their fees would have put the price at near 10 pounds, and that would be too expensive."